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Adams County purchasing protocols deeply flawed, review says

By Yesenia RoblesThe Denver Post

Posted:
11/08/2012 12:01:00 AM MST

An independent review of the Adams County purchasing processes has found deep flaws, including a lack of documentation and lack of consolidation of purchases and policies, that put the county at high risk for inefficiencies and misuse of county funds.

Adams County had started to draft new purchasing policies but was waiting to complete them until it had seen the recommendations of the study.

The 403-hour review looked at processes from 26 departments, as well as 50 purchasing transactions from 2011.

Among the findings, Colorado Independent Consultants Network found that of the 50 transactions analyzed, 32 were improperly authorized and several weren't signed for approval at all.

Several employee purchasing card transactions also didn't have documentation to justify expenses as business related. Other purchases handled by departments, without help from the purchasing staff, had no documentation of the purchases.

"Presently it is difficult to verify that competitive bids occurred as required for purchases initiated by departments and elected officials outside the official purchasing function," the report states.

Adams County is already in the process of phasing in the use of an electronic JD Edwards system that will automate the requirement for documentation and will require approval from designated authorizers.

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But another recommendation: To use third-party auditors to evaluate large contracts for service to ensure the county doesn't overpay will not be followed. Officials said they don't have enough staff for the audits.

County commissioners are expected to review the proposed policies before the end of the year.

The report included responses from managers, some of them saying that implementing all the recommendations could be difficult.

"We agree with the concept and will implement the recommendation," one management response states. "This will require elected officials, department heads and managers to work together to achieve success. We have found that getting these groups to talk to each other and agree is difficult."

Most responses, however, agreed the change will occur — as long as the new policies are approved by the commissioners.

John Olenberger, president and founder of CICN, which conducted the study, said that while there are a few disagreements with the county, the most important steps are being taken.

"The county is taking proactive steps in commissioning the study in the first place," Olenberger said. "It also reflects well that they have already started implementing proactive stances in drafting new policies. They are not just going to take this study and file it away."

As an added motivation, Olenberger's firm was also asked to return in 2013 and in 2014 to conduct additional reviews to see how the recommendations were followed.

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